Tim Philips garnishing cocktails at the bar

Blogs & Inpsiration

3 Spring Cocktail Ideas from Drink Experts

Attract more guests to your venue by adding these perfect spring seasonal serves to your menu. A simple way to refresh your menu and introduce seasonal flavours and ingredients.

Authors: Former World Class Winners, Tim Philips-Johansson, Manabu Ohtake and Erik Lorincz

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Top Spring Cocktail Recipes to Try

Spring brings change and new beginnings. As a bartender, you can reflect that ethos in crafting a new spring menu. As temperatures rise and days get brighter during the season, the tastes your guests crave will change - moving from the warm and often spiced flavours of winter to something refreshing and floral.

Here are some great seasonal drinks that lean into the flavours and fresh ingredients of spring, crafted by some of the brightest and most talented bartenders on the planet.

Spring Collins – from Tim Philips-Johannson

This unique interpretation of the classic Collins is made more elegant and fresher with the addition of homemade vanilla syrup, giving it a luxurious flavour. This Spring Collins recipe remains as fresh and light as the original and brings out a floral essence thanks to a garnish of lavender flowers.

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Green Season – from Manabu Ohtake

This cucumber-forward cocktail is great for adding a fresh addition to your menu following the harshness of winter. The Green Season recipe combines sweet agave nectar with tequila, to create a delightful spring cocktail perfect for the first garden parties of the season.

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Cocktails with mint garnish on garden table

Spring Garden – from Erik Lorincz

This cocktail uses the seasonal ingredients of spring, such as raspberries and sweet apples, to create a tangy and lifeful cocktail. Adding mint to the Spring Garden recipe offers a cool sensation and a slight herbal undertone, with the raspberries, lemon and apple bringing a sweet and zesty experience.

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Promoting Sustainability in your Bar

Creating a spring cocktail will promote sustainability by incorporating fresh, locally sourced ingredients that are in season during these specific months. This will not only reduce your carbon footprint but also be well received by eco-conscious guests.

Dependant on your location, spring offers plenty of fruits, herbs, and vegetables like strawberries, rhubarb, mint, and cucumbers, which can be used to create innovative and refreshing cocktails for guests.

Try growing your own ingredients for spring with Diageo Bar Academy’s handy bartender’s garden tool.

Key Takeaways

Spring is a great time to attract more guests to your venue by adding new life to your cocktail menu with delightful spring seasonal serves.
Focusing in on a season (like spring) can also be a great way to draw on seasonal ingredients, bringing a more sustainably-led approach to your bar.
Guests prefer fresh and sweet flavours during the spring season. Make cocktails with herbal, floral, and tangy flavours like seasonal lavender, vanilla, raspberries and apples.